A new constitutive model for multi-layered collagenous tissues

Collagenous tissues such as the aneurysmal wall or the aorta are multi-layered structures with the mean fibre alignments distinguishing one layer from another. A constitutive representation of the multiple collagen layers is not yet developed, and hence the aim of the present study. The proposed model is based on the constitutive theory of finite elasticity and is characterized by an anisotropic strain-energy function which takes the material structure into account. The passive tissue behaviour is modelled and the related mechanical response is assumed to be dominated by elastin and collagen. While elastin is modelled by the neo-Hookean material the constitutive response of collagen is assumed to be transversely isotropic for each individual layer and based on an exponential function. The proposed constitutive function is polyconvex which ensures material stability. The model has five independent material parameters, each of which has a clear physical interpretation: the initial stiffnesses of the collagen fabric in the two principal directions, the shear modulus pertaining to the non-collagenous matrix material, a parameter describing the level of nonlinearity of the collagen fabric, and the angle between the principal directions of the collagen fabric and the reference coordinate system. An extension-inflation test of the adventitia of a human femoral artery is simulated by means of the finite element method and an error function is minimized by adjusting the material parameters yielding a good agreement between the model and the experimental data.